Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Aksana Ismailbekova
Research Fellow in Social Anthropology
Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin, Germany
Personal Information
Contact Information
Address: Kirchweg 33, 14129 Berlin, Germany
Email: aksana.ismailbekova@zmo.de
Phone: +49 176 53537135
Website: ZMO Profile
Languages
Native: Kyrgyz, Russian
Excellent: English
Very Good: German, Uzbek, Kazakh
Good: Turkish
Education
PhD in Social Anthropology
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg & Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
2012
Specialized research in kinship, patronage systems, and social dynamics in Central Asia.
MA in Social Research of Social and Political Studies
University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
2006
Advanced study in social research methodologies and political analysis.
BA in Cultural Anthropology
American University – Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
2005
Foundation in anthropological theory and regional expertise in Central Asian cultures.
Major Research Grants
Overcoming Difference in Fergana Valley
University of Pittsburgh
2024
$15,000
Success in Academia in Central Asia and Beyond
CESS Pre-Conference Workshop, Pittsburgh University
2023
$2,000
Islamist Politics in Central Asia on the Threshold of Generational Change
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office
2023
€15,000
Salafism in Central Asia
European Centre for Development Policy
2022
€130,000
Harnessing Informality: Anti-Corruption Network
Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Programme
2021
€11,000; €25,000
Volkswagen Stiftung Writing Support Voucher
Volkswagen Foundation
2020
€5,000
Fieldwork Experience
Migration Research
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan
2023
Islam Research
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan
2022
Ethnographic Research
Moscow, Russia; Fergana Valley, Central Asia
2021-Present
Research among Uzbeks in Fergana Valley
Uzbekistan
2011-2015
Research among Uzbek migrants
Yekaterinburg, Russia
2012
PhD Project Research
Kyrgyzstan
2007-2008
Current Position
Senior Research Fellow
Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin
2020 - Present
Conducting research on migration, ethnicity and kinship in Central Asia and beyond. Leading international collaborations on post-socialist transformations. Supervising PhD and MA students on anthropology of Islam, ethnicity, aging, gender, childhood, migration, and economic anthropology.
Visiting Fellowships
The Aleksanteri Institute
University of Helsinki
September 2024
Newcastle University-Leibniz Research Alliance
Bilateral Fellowship, UK
March 2025
Slavic-Eurasian Research Center
Hokkaido University, Japan
July 2025
Humboldt Fellowship
UC Santa Barbara, California
2026-2028
Academic Appointments
Postdoctoral Researcher
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Saale), Germany
2018-2019
Research Fellow
Bonn International Center for Conversion
2017-2018
Researcher
Informal Governance and Corruption Project, DFID-British Academy, Basel University
2016-2017
Research Fellow
Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin, "Crossroads Asia" Network
2011-2014
PhD Scholar
Graduate School "Society and Culture in Motion," Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
2009-2010
Research Interests
Kinship & Patronage Systems
Analysis of traditional and contemporary kinship networks and their role in political and social organization.
Ethnicity & Conflict Resolution
Investigation of ethnic dynamics and mechanisms for conflict resolution in diverse societies.
Gender Studies
Examination of gender roles, women's experiences, and social change in Central Asian contexts.
Informal Governance
Study of informal political structures, corruption patterns, and their intersection with formal institutions.
Publications
Monographs
"Blood Ties and the Native Sons: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan"
2017 | Bloomington: Indiana University Press
"Mobilizing Kinship for Care, Welfare, and Development in Kyrgyzstan"
Forthcoming | Culture and Society in Central Eurasia series, Berghahn Books
Editorial Volumes
"Surviving Everyday Life. The securityscapes of threatened people in Kyrgyzstan"
2020 | Together with Marc von Boemcken, et al. Bristol: Bristol University Press
"Negotiating Multiple Senses of the Future and Belonging in Kyrgyzstan"
2014 | Together with Jeanne Féaux de la Croix. Anthropology of East Europe Review, 32(2), 1–16
Recent Peer-Reviewed Articles
"Japarov and Tashiev in Tandem: the Pursuit of Money and Power"
2024 | Anthropology Today. 40 (6):11-14
"The 'Stolen Revolution': 'Progressive' and 'conservative' forces of the contemporary political context of Kyrgyzstan"
2024 | Central Asian Affairs. 11(2) 99–128
"Native Son Japarov: The Embodiment of Injustice?"
2021 | Anthropology Today. Vol 37 (5):1/4
"From Endogamous Marriage to Ethnicity: Uzbek Community Survival Strategy After the 2010 Conflict in Osh"
2019 | Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia, 58:3, 134-154
"Mapping lineage leadership in Kyrgyzstan: lineage associations and informal governance"
2018 | Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. 143: 195-219
"Single Mothers in Osh: Well-being and coping strategies of women in the aftermath of the 2010 conflict in Kyrgyzstan"
2015 | Focaal. Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology. 71: 114–127
Selected Book Chapters
"Daughters as Ojiza: Marriage, Security and Care strategies for daughters among Uzbeks in Southern Kyrgyzstan"
2023 | In Féaux de la Croix, Jeanne and Madeleine Reeves. Central Asian Worlds. The Routledge Handbook. Routledge, p173-187
"Lineage Associations and Informal Politics in: Mapping Kyrgyz Leadership"
2022 | Central Asia: Contexts for Understanding. Ed. D. Montgomery. pp606-610 Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press
"Informal Governance, 'Clan' politics and Corruption"
2021 | Edited by Rico Isaacs, Erica Marat. Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia. London: Routledge Pp 87-100
Recent Joint Articles
"Transferring Deceased Bodies, Building Transnational Communities. The Case of Kyrgyz and Tajik Migrants in Russia"
2023 | Cleuziou Juliette and Ismailbekova, Aksana. Revue européenne des migrations internationales, vol. 39 - n°1, 77-100
"E-informality: smartphones as a new regulatory space for informal exchange of formal resources"
2022 | Ismailbekova, Aksana and Gulzat Baialieva. Informality and Mobility. Pp 321-341 London: Palgrave Macmillan
Teaching Experience
Martin Luther University, Halle
Anthropology of Mental Health
Anthropology of Islam
Anthropology of Migration
Anthropology of Gender
Introduction to Kinship
Freie University of Berlin
Economic Anthropology
Osh State University
Decoloniality
Ethnicity
Introduction to Ethnographic Research Methods
Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentorship
Supervising PhD students at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, MLU, Osh State University (since 2015) on topics related to ethnicity, religious movements, migration, aging, gender, and economic transformations in post-Soviet Central Asia
Service to the Field
Reviewer for Academic Journals
Anthropological Quarterly, Nationalities Papers, Europe-Asia Studies, Central Asian Survey, Central Asian Affairs, Focaal, American Anthropologist, and others
Professional Memberships
Professional Associations
Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS)
European Society for Central Asian Studies (ESCAS)
American Anthropological Association
European Association of Social Anthropologists
Organization of International Conferences & Workshops
Gender and Women's Agency
Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin
June 10-12, 2024
(Un)growing Into Generational Roles
ZMO, Berlin
June 9-10, 2023
Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) Conference
George Washington University, USA
October 10-13, 2019
Selected Invited Lectures
Keynote: Central Asia: Comprehensive Security and Sustainable Development
OSCE Academy, Bishkek
2023
Keynote: Central Asian Style: New Local Forms of Knowledge, Art, and Practice
AUCA, Kyrgyzstan
2023
Seminar: Kinship Politics in Central Asia
Columbia University, USA
2022
Service to Department and University
Search Committee Member
ZMO postdocs and PhD students
2024
Work Council Member
ZMO at GWZ
2024
Mentor for International PhD Students
Researching kinship, Islam, and economic networks
2023-Present
Skills & Expertise
Research Methods
- Ethnographic fieldwork
- Qualitative data analysis
- Interview techniques
- Participant observation
- Multi-sited ethnography
Regional Expertise
- Central Asia
- Post-Soviet societies
- Kyrgyzstan
- Fergana Valley
- Migration corridors
Research Areas
- Kinship and patronage
- Informal governance
- Migration studies
- Gender and Islam
- Conflict and ethnicity
Academic Leadership
- PhD supervision
- Conference organization
- Grant writing
- International collaboration
- Editorial work
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